POWER TO THE PEOPLE Milestone encourages its employees to lead the way.
Like being told what to do? Then don’t apply for a position at The Milestone Group. Employee empowerment is the company’s core philosophy. “This is not an easy place to work,” admits Steve Lamberti, president and COO of Milestone Management. “You have to be self-motivated, have a strong desire to effect change, and be successful at what you do.”
While many companies tout empowerment, Milestone puts this popular buzz word into action. Perhaps the best example: The executives set up a task force to tackle the firm’s biggest operational issues, such as finding a new accounting system or surveying options for a revenue management system. The task force is composed of representatives from property operations, site operations, asset management, IT, accounting, and human resources.
Who’s missing from this cast of characters? Lamberti and the other senior executives. “I purposely don’t put senior executives on the task force because I want the free flow of information and [the] positive and negative exchange,” Lamberti says. “If you have an executive there, it can be stifling.”
Most recently, the task force met for about three months to find a new utility billing provider for its properties. To Lamberti’s surprise, the team opted for a smaller vendor, not a larger provider. But the top executives respected and agreed to go with the decision. Such empowerment is critical to the firm’s success, says Spencer Stuart Jr., a regional partner at Foster City, Calif.-based Legacy Partners, for which Milestone manages more than 3,000 units. “If you start with good people, let them do their job properly, and don’t look over their shoulder, people tend to give you great performance,” Stuart says. “Milestone does this very well, and it works. I am a big believer because I see it in action every day at the local and regional level.”
THE MILESTONE GROUP
- Founded: 2003
- Headquarters: Dallas
- Employees: 700
- 2007 Revenue: Undisclosed
- Units owned and managed: 27,543 (as of Jan. 1)
- Units fee-managed: 6,927 (as of Jan. 1)
- Geographic coverage: Southwest, Southeast, Northeast